It's a What?
by mum-to-you
Summary: Seven children under the age of eleven! Imagine life at The Burrow at the time of Voldemort's demise.


This is the way I have calculated the ages of the Weasley children all along. JKR has confirmed the very rightness of my thoughts on her website, so go, me!

For the record, let me just state that I adore the character of Arthur Weasley and this relationship, and I really think that Mark Williams and Julie Walters should get hours more footage in the films to develop that. In fact, just bugger all the children and make the whole movie about Molly and Arthur. I'd pay to see it. Just my $.02.

I rated this PG-13. It contains more mature subject matter, and Arthur says a very bad word. A very bad word indeed.

It's a _What?  
_  
A very pregnant Molly Weasley sat nursing her year-old son in a big squashy armchair in the home she had made with her husband Arthur. It was his family home, called The Burrow, and it had a shabby veneer that belied the warmth and comfort within.

She smiled down at little Ronnie, and he gave her a goofy, milky grin. Then she glanced around the large family room to check on her other children. Bill and Charlie, who were ten and eight, respectively, were at the table doing their lessons. Bill was nearly eleven, and in the fall, he would be going off to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where she and Arthur had attended. Percy was sitting quietly reading a book. "Reading already, and only five," thought Molly proudly.

Three-year-old George was, for once, sitting on the floor absorbed in pushing a new toy car back and forth across the hearthrug. It was a model of a Muggle car that Arthur had recently developed a fascination with. She surveyed the room again, and then asked, "Now just where has Fred gotten himself?"

Bill looked up from his work and said, "Mummy, Fred's climbing up on the kitchen counter. I think he's trying to sneak biscuits."

"Thank you, dear," Molly replied, "I'll handle it." With a fluid movement of her hand, she pointed her wand towards the kitchen door and called out, _"Locomotor Fred!"_ In an instant, her wayward toddler came bobbing back into the family room, where she plopped him gently on the carpet next to Percy.

"Percy, love, you are reading beautifully," she commented. "Why don't you read Fred and George a story for me?"

"All right, Mummy, I can do that," he replied. He looked up at her with a proud smile.

Molly's heart always caught with a twinge of anxiety when she looked at Percy's studious, serious face. "Merlin's beard," she reflected, "we almost lost that one, and me with him."

Truth be known, Molly wasn't exactly looking forward to giving birth again, and it would be any day now. Some births had been easier than others, but face it, they were all hard. Bill's had been the longest, but that was to be expected the first time. "Arthur's the one who almost didn't survive that one!" she remembered with a chuckle. "But by now I think he's finally starting to catch on, he is."

Except for Percy, all her birthings had been fairly uneventful, if the birth of a child could ever be called that. And the only real problem with Ronnie's birth was that it simply hadn't been long enough ago!

Then her thoughts turned somber as she watched Percy point out words to the twins. He had been born too early and everything had gone wrong! She had lost a lot of blood, and he had been so very tiny and weak. Molly truly believed that she had willed him to live from what she'd thought had been her own deathbed, and she considered it to be a miracle that either of them had survived.

"Death," Molly shuddered, "there's just been too much death." She was very grateful that Arthur had a new job as an assistant in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office at the ministry. It was a starting salary, which had to stretch a long way with this brood, but she was sure he would advance quickly. Besides, he absolutely loved his job. And Molly herself preferred it to the risky missions he had been undertaking for the Order of the Phoenix. Molly Weasley knew as well as anyone how dangerous that was.

Even after a year, she still had nightmares about the day she watched the Death Eaters murder her brothers. She had brought the boys with her for a family visit, and when the attack started, Gideon had made her swear to stay with the boys no matter what. What else could she do? But guarding them had meant that she could only watch helplessly as the five followers of You-Know-Who had charged in and killed both Gideon and Fabian.

Fabian had been significantly older, so although she loved him, he seemed more of a nice uncle who visited occasionally than a brother as she was growing up. Gideon was another story. They had only been a year apart and had gone to school together, and they were extremely close. Her brothers had fought bravely, taking down four of the five Death Eaters before that horrible flash of purple light took them from her so horribly.

For some unfathomable reason, a tiny woman with her wand at ready standing before a locked bedroom door hadn't been worth the effort to kill. The Death Eater left standing had just assumed a dueling stance for a brief, terrifying moment, laughed at her, then left the house, leaving utter carnage in his wake. Sometimes she still woke up at night, stifling screams and tears. And oh, how she missed Gideon!

She gasped. Gideon! That was it! She and Arthur had gone round and round trying to pick a name for their new son. She had teased him that they were simply running out of names. But she knew that he would agree with her if she wanted to name the little boy Gideon. It was perfect!

Molly glanced up at the clock as she set Ronnie down on the floor. It didn't tell time, but it did have a gold hand inscribed with the name of every member of the family and showed where they were at any given time. As usual these days, seven hands were at "Home," with Arthur's hand still on "Work." That made her smile. Far too often in the past few years, it had pointed towards "Mortal Peril." But those times were over now that You-Know-Who had been defeated. While she was looking at the clock, Arthur's hand moved from "Traveling," then to "Home."

Arthur Apparated into the family room, immediately walked over to Molly, kissed her, and rested his hand on her stomach. As she kissed him back, the baby gave a strong kick. "Merlin's beard!" exclaimed Arthur, "Did you feel that? He's going to a Beater, this one!" He hugged Molly tightly, then turned with a clap of his hands and asked, "So how were the Weasley boys today?"

"Oh, I'd say it was a pretty typical day for the Weasley boys." Molly laughed. "Billy--er, excuse me, _Bill_--worked on his long division and scored one-hundred percent on a spelling test. Charlie dragged home a Great Dane puppy, which I believe has taken up residence in the cellar. Percy read a story to the twins all by himself and had a spectacular tantrum when they got into his paintbox. Fred used the toilet three times today, but only Number One. George, on the other hand, did a Number Two, but still steadfastly refuses to do Number One in the actual lavatory. And Ronnie continued to be the most darling baby in the universe, except for a brief interval after lunch, when he had gas.

"As for me, my back hurts, my feet are swollen, I used the loo 417 times, I've had horrible heartburn all day, and I'm as fat as a cow. How was your day?"

Arthur was fairly shaking with laughter, and he grabbed Molly up in another big hug. "My love, I do believe you work--let's see, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6-six times harder than I ever do. And soon to be seven. Seven boys. We'll be able to field our own Quidditch team!"

"And for the record, I think you are absolutely beautiful." Then he matched _that _proclamation with a kiss that made her feel as if she were indeed the most beautiful woman in the world, if only to him.

Then he turned to the boys and said, "Right, then. Time for old Dad to report for duty. Bill, why don't you set the table. Charlie, you can tidy up the toys in here, and careful with Percy's paintbox, mind. Percy, Fred, George, you lot come with me and jump in the bath. We're having a swim party."

One of the twins toddled up to Arthur and yanked on his trouser leg. He looked down and beamed, "Ah, George, ready for a bath?"

"Arthur, that's Fred," Molly reproved.

"Right-O, Fred then. Come with me, son."

Fred grabbed Arthur's hand and pulled it. "Daddy, I go wee."

"So I hear, son, and a magnificent job you made of it, too."

Fred shook his head. "No, Daddy. Now."

"Ah, indeed, yes. Right now, you say? Alrighty, you three, upstairs!" Arthur hoisted a twin under each arm and herded Percy up ahead of him. A few moments later, Molly heard the cheers and applause that meant Fred had had another successful Number One.

Later that evening, after the older children were asleep and Molly was nursing Ronnie one more time before bed, Arthur pulled up an ottoman and sat in front of her. He drew her feet up into his lap, slipped off her shoes, and began rubbing her feet.

"That's lovely, dear," she sighed. Then she grinned wryly at him and said, "Massage all that fluid out, and I really will be in the loo all night!"

She paused reflectively and became silent. Arthur looked up at her and asked, "Molly, what is it?"

"Arthur, what would you say to naming the new one after Gideon?"

He looked at her closely before responding. "It would mean a lot to you, wouldn't it?" She nodded.

"Hmmm. It would be quite a name for any boy to live up to, you know. But Gideon was a good friend to me, love. You know, I think it's a fabulous idea. I just can't think why we didn't think of it sooner. Looks as if we have a name!

She put her feet down on the floor and leaned over to kiss him. "Thank you, love. I know it wouldn't be your first choice otherwise." She sat Ronnie up in her lap and patted his back until he let out a huge, squelchy burp.

"Good one, son," laughed Arthur, "World class, that was." He scooped him up into his arms and said, "Time for bed, you. Let's just check that nappy, shall we? Oh my, Numbers One and Two! Molly, I think this one's an overachiever!" Molly watched with deep affection as he put the baby on his head like a hat and jogged upstairs with him.

While Arthur put Ronnie to bed, Molly got up and puttered restlessly around the room before heading upstairs. Halfway up the stairs, her contractions began. She took some deep breaths and made her way up to the bedroom, thinking, "Heartburn, my arse. I've been in bloody labor most of the day and too busy to notice it. You'd think by now--"

Arthur came into the room behind her just as another contraction started. "Molly," he observed, "you're in labor."

When the pain subsided, she smiled at him and replied, "So it would seem."

"Well, first thing is, don't panic." he told himself more than anyone else. Then he added decisively, "I'll just owl Hestia to Apparate over to watch the boys as we planned, and then we'll head over to St. Mungo's."

Another powerful contraction took Molly's breath away, and Arthur stood there in utter terror as her water broke and drenched her clothes. "Too late, love." Molly whispered. "Send an owl for the Healer. Until then, we're on our own."

"Molly, no! I can't do that by myself!" Arthur exclaimed hysterically. Then he reached out to hold her up as another contraction started. "Right, then. Obviously, I am not being given a choice." He kissed her on the forehead, remembering, "You once said that together we could do anything, love. Let's have a son, shall we!"

Arthur helped her out of her wet things and into an old shirt of his. It hung down to her knees, but it was roomy and comfortable. He stroked her hair as he held her up and walked with her around and around the room. He whiled away the next few hours, making inane small talk, hoping to hide his fear from his wife. He was trying desperately to stem the rising flood of panic as he thought, "Merlin, what if this one goes like Percy? I have no idea what I'm doing, and I could lose her!" He had never felt so utterly terrified in his life, but he knew that for Molly's sake, he couldn't let it show.

When she got too tired to walk, he guided her over to the bed with one hand. With the other, he pointed his wand to door the door and absentmindedly said, "_Accio Towels."_ Large bath towels flew into the room from the linen closet and folded themselves neatly on the foot of the bed.

As Molly sat on the edge of the bed, she doubled over in pain. He rubbed her back and reminded her, "Go limp, love. Don't forget to breathe." He eased her into bed, lay down beside her, and held her for the next half hour or so, breathing with her through the contractions. When he felt the long catch in her breath that he didn't even realize he was listening for, he sat up and asked, "It's time?"

She nodded. He looked around the room frantically, as if he expected the Healer to pop out of the wardrobe, and muttered, "Where the bloody fuck could he be?"

Then resigned to the inevitable, Arthur piled up all the pillows behind Molly's back so she could sit up, while he sat in the middle of the bed, facing her. Molly reached out and took his hands and looked into his eyes. He hoped she couldn't see how very afraid he was, but she knew him too well. She smiled weakly at him and said, "You're doing fine. I won't be afraid as long you're with me." Wishing he deserved her faith in him, he rubbed her legs and pushed her feet back so that her knees were bent. He had never been on the working end of a laboring woman before, but he smiled at her with a confidence he definitely did not feel. "Next contraction, you hold onto my hands and push like all hell, right?"

Stronger contractions came and went over the next hour and with each one, Molly doubled up with the pain, scrunching up her face and uttering almost animal-like growls. Arthur concentrated on keeping eye contact with her and only smiled when she squeezed his hands so hard he was sure that all his fingers were broken. "Everything looks great, love," he encouraged her, "Of course I have absolutely no idea what I'm talking about, but I really do think it's going rather well."

Another contraction, and Arthur shouted, "That's it, Mollywobbles! I can see his head. He's got red hair!"

Molly barked out a laugh and grunted something that sounded like "fancy that" before that next contraction hit.

After a couple more pushes, Arthur grabbed a towel just in time to catch the wet, wriggling baby as it slid out. "Got him!" he shouted.

At that moment, the bedroom door flew open, and the Healer from St. Mungo's strode in and announced, "Ah, just in time I see!" Molly and Arthur just grinned at each other.

While Arthur jumped up to give Molly a kiss, the Healer tied off the baby's cord and asked Arthur if he wanted to cut it. "Finally," he thought, "something I've had some practice at."

While Arthur spent a few moments mostly hugging Molly's head, the Healer checked the baby over and wrapped it tightly in the towel for warmth, then handed the squalling infant back to Arthur, saying, "Baby's fine. Needs a bath, though."

Arthur just looked in amazement at the little red face and whispered, "Hullo, son. I'm Daddy." Immediately, the baby stopped crying. He showed the little bundle to Molly and added, "Molly, I think he looks like you."

He carried the baby down the hall for a first bath while the Healer took care of Molly. Arthur felt both relieved and guilty to be leaving her, but he felt much more competent with babies than placentas. The Healer stuck his head out the bedroom door and called out, "Don't get the cord stump wet!" Arthur turned with a nod, rolled his eyes, and said, "Yeah, I bloody know that."

Arthur returned to the bedroom about a half-hour later, when he was fairly sure the coast would be clear, with a slightly dazed and bewildered look. The room had been tidied up, and Molly was leaning back on the pillows looking tired, but glowing and healthy. The Healer had packed up his things and was preparing to leave. "You two seem to have everything under control here," he said, "so I'll just come back tomorrow to check on things. Mr. Weasley, have you missed your calling as a Healer?"

Molly just laughed as Arthur blinked several times and stammered, "Er, no. Really. I think not." Then he gazed over at his wife, and said, "But my Molly and I can do anything."

After the healer was gone, Arthur turned to Molly and said with a wry smile, "Say, love, I think that, after all, we might reconsider naming this one after Gideon."

Molly's face fell. "But Arthur, I thought we had agreed. I have my heart set on it. You can't possibly--"

He grinned at her. "Molly, it's a girl."

"It can't be. That's impossible. Let me see."

He handed the baby over to her and watched with an amused expression as she examined thoroughly, down to the fingers and toes. She looked up at him and said, "Arthur, this is a girl."

"Yes, love, I am aware of that." He sat down on the bed and leaned over to kiss his wife gently. "Imagine her going through life with the name Gideon."

"It won't do, will it?" Molly sighed. "Oh dear, how unexpected. Been a girl this whole time and we never even noticed? Well, we'll have to name her something!"

"Yes, I do think that would be advisable."

Molly looked up at her smiling husband. "Well, when Billy was born, we did actually pick out a name for a girl. It was Ginevra. How would that be?"

"It's as beautiful as she is. Delighted to have the chance to use it at last. Ginevra it is. And I insist on Molly as a middle name. On the chance that there won't be any more girls."

Molly just stared. Then she looked at Arthur intently before speaking. "Erm, Arthur, love. One more thing."

"Anything, my love." He kissed her cheek.

"No more."

"No more?"

"Children."

He stared back at her, shocked. "You don't want to go for an even eight?"

"Over your dead body, Arthur."

He blinked. "Well, I guess that's something to think about." He bent down and kissed his new daughter and looked back up at Molly and nodded. "Yep. Seven's good."

Then Arthur took the new baby from Molly and placed her in the old cradle that had been his, his brothers', and all his sons'. In fact, it hadn't held a baby girl in almost a hundred years. He covered little Ginevra with a blanket and pushed the cradle gently to set it rocking. Then he turned to Molly, cupped her face in his hands and kissed her passionately. "Merlin, Molly, what an experience. This has been the most terrifying and rewarding thing I've ever done. You were incredible."

Molly smiled at him, putting her hand on his cheek, and said, "No, you were incredible. I couldn't have done it without you."

Arthur blushed furiously and said gruffly, "Get in the bed, you. You need to rest. Healer's orders, that." He knew that he was far too elated to sleep, so he lay down next to Molly, holding her and keeping watch over what he was already beginning to think of as the Weasley girls until he heard the boys stirring.

Molly awoke the next morning to the sound of her daughter's cries. She reached across the bed and realized that Arthur was already up. She got up and walked gingerly over to the cradle, lifted up the tiny girl, and held her close. Then she turned to see five solemn faces at the foot of the bed. A grinning Arthur was behind them holding Ronnie, who was waving an odd-looking two-handled cup with a round bottom around in the air. She smiled brightly at the boys, then her eyes narrowed on the cup and she asked, "Arthur, whatever is that?

"It's a Muggle baby thing," he answered. "They call it a sippy-cup, I think. It has a lid, so things don't spill out, and it won't tip over. Ingenious, really. Ronnie's drinking _milk _out of it right now."

Molly's mouth twitched at the corners. "Ruddy brilliant, those Muggles."

She looked over at the boys, who still looked very put out, and announced, "All right, boys, come meet your new sister." She lay little Ginevra in the middle of the bed, and they all climbed up to inspect her.

"Hold Ginny!" demanded George.

"Ah, yes, dear. That probably wants some explaining. It would seem that _Ginevra _is a bit of a mouthful for the twins. Looks like it's Ginny for short."

Molly gathered Fred and George into a fierce embrace and agreed, "Ginny it is then." Then she sat down on the bed, pulled Percy into her lap with a kiss, and spoke to them all. "You know, boys, little babies like Ginny take a lot of time from their mummies at first, but that doesn't mean that Mummy loves the rest of you less. What a new baby really means is more love for everybody. And I'm going to need a lot of help from my big boys. Can I count on you?"

Percy nodded silently and leaned forward to pat his baby sister on the head. He sat back and threw his arms around his mother, and she hugged him tightly and whispered, "You'll always be my good boy, won't you?" He smiled and kissed her cheek.

Charlie, on the other hand, looked a little disgusted by the squirming little girl and asked, "When do I get to play with her?"

Arthur nodded his head thoughtfully and answered, "An excellent question. That might be awhile, son. She's a bit small for Quidditch yet. You wait, though. Bet she'll be a spanking good Chaser." Charlie just shrugged, but nodded.

Bill, as if speaking for the group, was very direct. "How can you tell she's a girl? She looks like a regular baby to me." The others all nodded in agreement.

Molly answered her oldest with a smile and a pointed look. "She only looks the same from the tummy up, love."

Bill cheeks turned bright red and, embarrassed, he looked up at his father. "That's disgusting, eh, Dad?"

Arthur ruffled Bill's hair and laughed, then said, "An attitude that will no doubt change in just a few years, I'll warrant."

Bill looked skeptical, then jerked his thumb towards the far corner of the room, and said, "Oi, boys, over here!" Charlie, Percy, Fred, and George hopped off the bed and huddled around their oldest brother. There was much whispered discussion and shaking and nodding of heads, when five little thumbs were stuck up out of five little fists. Arthur and Molly looked at each other quizzically and shrugged. When the boys finished their meeting, Bill looked at his parents and announced, "We took a vote. You can keep her. Even if she is a girl."

Arthur hugged Molly gleefully and exclaimed, "Isn't that wonderful news, darling?" Molly just shook her head and giggled and said, "Thank you, boys. I'm delighted to have that settled so quickly."

Arthur laughed heartily and chimed in, "An excellent decision, too, gentlemen. I promise you won't regret it. All right then, all the Weasley boys need to report downstairs for breakfast immediately. The Weasley girls will be allowed an all-day lie-in while we take care of them. Deal?"

Arthur put Ron on his hip with a practiced hand and marshaled the troops down the stairs. Molly overheard Bill and Charlie muttering something about "Dad" and "breakfast" and "porridge again."

She chuckled and picked up baby Ginny, then sat down and prepared to nurse her. With one hand she picked up the picture of her brother Gideon from the side table. His picture gave her a quick wave and a thumbs-up that made her smile.

"Gideon," she said in a whisper, "you almost had a nephew named after you today. But she turned out to be a niece. Imagine that.

"Oh, Gid, I so wish you could be here to see them all grow up! It's a new world out there, Gideon, with You-Know-Who gone. We have hope now. Maybe I can't honor you with a namesake, but I will honor you by making sure that the love we had is passed on to my children."

Tears were streaming down her face, but for the first time in a long time, they were tears of joy. She gently held little Ginny up to her shoulder and patted her on the back until she fell asleep. Molly ran her hand over soft red fuzz on Ginny's head, and when Arthur came back upstairs to check on them, she smiled through her tears and blew him a kiss.


End file.
